We are currently living under a record-high number of simultanious female world leaders.

For several years now, the stable status quo has been around 20
female world leaders at any given time. For much of 2014, the number
was 22 — a record high.

#

Country

Pic

Leader

In office since:

Notes

1

Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel

Nov. 22, 2005 -

elected

2

Liberia

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Jan. 16, 2006 -

elected

3

Argentina

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Dec. 10, 2007 -

elected

4

Bangledesh

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed

Jan. 6, 2009 -

elected

5

Lithuania

President Dalia Grybauskaite

Jul. 12, 2009 -

elected

6

Trinidad and Tobago

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar

May 26, 2010 -

elected

7

Brazil

President Dilma Rousseff

Jan. 1, 2011 -

elected

8

Kosovo

President Atifete Jahjaga

Apr. 7, 2011 -

elected

9

Denmark

Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Oct. 3, 2011 -

elected

10

Jamaica

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller

Jan. 5, 2012 -

elected

11

South Korea

President Park Geun-hye

Feb. 25, 2013 -

elected

12

Slovenia

Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek

Mar. 20, 2013 -

elected

13

Cyprus (North)

Prime Minister Sibel Siber

Jun. 13, 2013 -

appointed

14

Senegal

Prime Minister Aminata Touré

Sep. 3, 2013 -

appointed

15

Norway

Prime Minister Erna Solberg

Oct. 16, 2013 -

elected

16

Latvia

Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma

Jan. 22, 2014 -

elected

17

Central African Republic

President Catherine Samba-Panza

Jan. 23, 2014 -

appointed

18

Chile

President Michelle Bachelet

Mar. 11, 2014 -

elected

19

Malta

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca

Apr. 7, 2014 -

elected

20

Poland

Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz

Apr. 7, 2014 -

elected

21

Switzerland

President Simonetta Sommaruga

Jan. 1, 2015 -

appointed

22

Croatia

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic

Feb. 18, 2015 -

elected

"Elected" refers to women leaders who were elected in democratic elections, including both direct election and parliamentary election."Succeeded" refers
to leaders who automatically assumed their position following the
resignation or impeachment of a predecessor, and were thus not
specifically elected to their post."Appointed" refers to leaders who were appointed
to office by a ruling party or executive, and were thus not
specifically elected to their post."Coup" refers to a leader who staged a coup or revolution to take office through force.

Sometimes leaders who were originally appointed to office managed to win election. In such cases both dates are noted.

NOTE: the "head of state" issue

In colloquial speech, a "head of state" is simply a world leader; be
she a president, a prime minister, a ruling monarch, or in rare cases,
some other office entirely. However, political scientists — and indeed,
many national constitutions — define this term in a more narrow sense,
with the "head of state" being the person who symbolically "embodies"
the nation as its highest legal authority and highest-ranking
ceremonial representative. A person who actually "runs" the government,
in contrast, is called the "head of government." In many countries, the
head of state and head of government is the same person, but in many
other countries, the "head of state" is a symbolic president or monarch
while the prime minister is the "head of government."

Identifying "heads of state" in this sense is a complicated matter I
am not interested in here. Let it merely be noted that the women listed
below consist simply of people who could be accurately described as
"world leaders" of one sort or another, but some might regard it as
technically incorrect to describe them as all "heads of state."

Queens or Vice-Regal Females in power

A few countries have reining female queens, or, if they are a member
of the British Commonwealth, a female governor general representing
Queen Elizabeth as head of state. As they are merely symbolic figureheads chosen to represent the actual head of state,
they are not usually counted as "full" world leaders.

#

Country

Leader

In office since:

1

United Kingdom

Queen Elizabeth II

Feb. 6, 1952 -

2

Denmark

Queen Margethe II

Jan. 14, 1972 -

4

Saint Lucia

Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy

Sep. 17, 1997 -

5

Australia

Governor-General Quentin Bryce

Sep. 5, 2008 -

All countries with female presidents, past and present

A president is either the executive leader of a country, or a
ceremonial figurehead chosen to "represent the nation" but not exercise
any real political power.

Country

Leader

Term

Notes

Argentina (1st time)

President Isabel Peron

Jul. 1, 1974 - Mar. 24, 1976

succeeded, wife

Iceland

President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir

Aug. 1, 1980 - Jul. 31, 1996

elected

Malta (1st time)

President Agatha Barbara

Feb. 15, 1982 - Feb. 15, 1987

elected

Philippines(1st time)

President Corazon Aquino

Feb. 25, 1986 - Jun. 30, 1992

elected, wife*

Nicaragua

President Violeta de Chamorro

Apr. 25, 1990 - Jan. 10, 1997

elected

Ireland (1st time)

President Mary Robinson

Dec, 3, 1990 - Sep. 12, 1997

elected

Sri Lanka

President Chandrika Kumaratunga

Nov. 12, 1994 - Nov. 19, 2005

elected, daughter

Ireland (2nd time)

President Mary McAleese

Nov. 11, 1997 - Nov. 11, 2011

elected

Guyana

President Janet Jagan

Dec. 19, 1997 - Aug. 11, 1999

elected, wife

Switzerland (1st time)

President Ruth Dreifuss

Jan. 1, 1999 - Dec. 31, 1999

appointed

Latvia

President Vaira Vike-Freiberga

Jul. 8, 1999 - Jul. 8, 2007

elected

Panama

President Mireya Moscoso

Sep. 1, 1999 - Sep. 1, 2004

elected, wife

Finland

President Tarja Halonen

Mar. 1, 2000 -

elected

Philippines(2nd time)

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Jan. 20, 2001 - June 30, 2010

succeeded 2001, elected 2004, daughter

Indonesia

President Megawati Sukarnoputri

Jul. 23, 2001 - Oct. 20, 2004

succeeded, daughter

Serbia

President Natasa Micic

Dec. 30, 2002 - Jan. 27, 2004

appointed

Liberia

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

Jan. 16, 2006 -

elected

Chile

President Michelle Bachelet

Mar. 11, 2006 - Mar. 11, 2010

elected

Switzerland(2nd time)

President Micheline Calmy-Rey

Jan. 1, 2007 - Dec. 31, 2007

appointed

Bosnia & Herzegovina

President Borjana Kristo

Feb. 22, 2007 - Mar. 17, 2011

elected

India

President Pratibha Patil

Jul. 25, 2007 - Jul. 25, 2012

elected

Argentina(2nd time)

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Dec. 10, 2007 -

elected, wife

Lithuania

President Dalia Grybauskaite

Jul. 12, 2009 -

elected

Switzerland (3rd time)

President Doris Leuthard

Jan. 1, 2010 - Dec. 31, 2011

appointed

Kyrgyzstan

President Rosa Otunbayeva

Apr. 7, 2010 - Dec. 1, 2011

coup

Costa Rica

President Laura Chinchilla

May 8, 2010 - May 8, 2014

elected

Brazil

President Dilma Rousseff

Jan. 1, 2011 -

elected

Switzerland(4th time)

President Micheline Calmy-Rey

Jan. 1, 2011 - Dec. 31, 2011

appointed

Switzerland(5th time)

President Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf

Jan. 1, 2012 - Dec. 31, 2013

appointed

Malawi

President Joyce Banda

Apr. 7, 2012 - May 31, 2014

succeeded

South Korea

President Park Geun-hye

Feb. 25, 2013 -

elected, daughter

Central African Republic

President Catherine Samba-Panza

Jan. 23, 2014 -

appointed

Chile (2nd time)

President Michelle Bachelet

Mar. 11, 2014 -

elected

Malta (2nd time)

President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca

Apr. 7, 2014 -

elected

Switzerland(6th time)

President Simonetta Sommaruga

Jan. 1, 2015 -

appointed

Croatia

President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic

Feb. 18, 2015 -

elected

"Wife" indicates leaders whose husband was also president at one time."Daughter" indicates leaders whose father was also president at one time.

* though not a wife of a president, Ms. Aquino's political career
was largely the result of her marriage to a very prominent senator, who
was later assasinated. Her son, interestingly, would also later serve
as president.

Less than a year in power (acting, interim leaders, etc)

The following female leaders all assumed office on some sort of
interim basis and cannot be properly regarded as a "full" president.
They often held the presidency while simultaniously holding some other
office of government, usually speaker of parliament..

Country

Leader

Term

Mongolia

President Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa

Sep. 23, 1953 - Jul. 7, 1954

Bolivia

President Lydia Gueiler Tejada

Nov. 17, 1980 - Jul. 18, 1980

Guinea-Bissau

President Carmen Pereira

May 14, 1984 - May 16, 1984

Haiti

President Ertha Pascal-Trouillot

Mar. 13, 1990 - Jan. 7, 1991

East Germany

President Sabine Bergmann-Pohl

Apr. 5, 1990 - Oct. 2, 1990

Liberia

President Ruth Perry

Sep. 3, 1996 - Aug. 2, 1997

Ecuador

President Rosalía Arteaga Serrano

Feb. 9, 1997 - Feb. 11, 1997

Georgia (1st time)

President Nino Burjanadz

Nov. 23, 2003 - Jan. 25, 2004

Georgia (2nd time)

President Nino Burjanadz

Nov. 25, 2007 - Jan. 20, 2008

Israel

President Dalia Itzik

Jan. 25, 2007 - Jul. 15, 2007

South Africa

President Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri

Sep. 25, 2008

Gabon

President Rose Francine Rogombé

Jun. 10, 2009 - Oct. 16, 2009

Mauritius

President Monique Ohsan-Bellepeau

Mar. 31, 2012 - Jul. 21. 2012

Serbia

President Slavica Djukic Dejanovic

Apr. 4, 2012 - May 31, 2012

All countries with female prime ministers, past and present

A prime minister is, in most circumstances, the leader of the
national parliament. How much power she exercises can vary greatly
based on the country, and how strong the president (or in some cases,
monarch) that sits above her is.

Country

Leader

Term

Notes

Sri Lanka (1st time)

Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Jul. 21, 1960 - Mar. 27, 1965

elected, wife

India (1st time)

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Jan. 19, 1966 - Mar. 24, 1977

elected, daughter

Israel

Prime Minister Golda Meir

Mar. 17, 1969 - Jun. 3, 1974

appointed 1969, elected 1971

Sri Lanka (2nd time)

Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike

May 29, 1970 - Jul. 23, 1977

"

Central African Republic

Prime Minister Elisabeth Domitien

Jan. 2, 1975 - Apr. 7, 1976

appointed*

United Kingdom

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

May 4, 1979 - Nov. 28, 1990

elected

India (2nd time)

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

Jan. 14, 1980 - Oct. 31, 1984

"

Dominica

Prime Minister Dame Eugenia Charles

Jul. 21, 1980 - Jun. 14, 1995

elected

Norway (1st time)

Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland

Feb. 4, 1981 - Oct. 14, 1981

elected

Yugoslavia

Prime Minister Milka Planinc

May 16, 1982 - May 15, 1986

appointed*

Norway (2nd time)

Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland

May 9, 1986 - Oct. 16, 1989

"

Pakistan (1st time)

Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto

Dec. 2, 1988 - Aug. 6, 1990

elected, daughter

Norway (3rd time)

Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland

Nov. 3, 1990 - Oct. 25, 1996

"

Bangledesh(1st time)

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia

Mar. 20, 1991 - Mar. 30, 1996

elected, daughter

Poland

Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka

Jul. 8, 1992 - Oct. 26, 1993

appointed

Turkey

Prime Minister Tansu Çiller

Jun. 25, 1992 - Mar. 6, 1996

appointed

Pakistan (2nd time)

Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto

Oct. 19, 1993 - Nov. 5, 1996

"

Sri Lanka (3rd time)

Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike

Nov. 14, 1994 - Aug. 10, 2000

"

New Zealand (1st time)

Prime Minister Jenny Shippley

Dec. 8, 1997 - Dec. 10, 1999

appointed

New Zealand (2nd time)

Prime Minister Helen Clark

Dec. 10, 1999 - Nov. 19, 2008

elected

Senegal (1st time)

Prime Minister Mame Madior Boye

Mar. 2, 2001 - Nov. 4, 2002

appointed

Bangledesh(2nd time)

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia

Oct. 10, 2001 - Oct. 29. 2006

"

São Tomé and Príncipe

Prime Minister Maria das Neves

Oct. 7, 2002 - Sep. 18, 2004

appointed

Mozambique

Prime Minister Luísa Diogo

Feb. 17, 2004 - Jan. 16, 2010

appointed 2004, elected 2009

Ukraine(1st time)

Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko

Jan. 24, 2005 - Sep. 8, 2005

elected

Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel

Nov. 22, 2005 -

elected

Jamaica

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller

Mar. 30, 2006 - Sep. 11, 2007

appointed

South Korea

Prime Minister Han Myung Sook

Ap. 19, 2006 - Mar. 7, 2007

appointed

Ukraine(2nd time)

Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko

Dec. 18, 2007 - Mar. 11, 2010

"

Haiti (2nd time)

Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis

Sep. 5, 2008 - Nov. 11, 2009

appointed

Bangledesh

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed

Jan. 6, 2009 -

elected

Iceland

Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir

Feb. 1, 2009 - May 23, 2013

appointed 2009, elected 2009

Croatia

Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor

Jul. 6, 2009 - Dec. 2011

appointed

Trinidad and Tobago

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar

May 26, 2010 -

elected

Australia

Prime Minister Julia Gillard

Jun. 24, 2010 - Jun. 27, 2013

appointed 2010, elected 2010

Finland

Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi

Jun. 22, 2010 - Jun. 22, 2011

appointed

Slovakia

Prime Minister Iveta Radicová

Jul. 8, 2010 - Apr. 4, 2012

elected

Thailand

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra

Aug. 8, 2011 - May 7, 2014

elected

Denmark

Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt

Oct. 3, 2011 -

elected

Jamaica (2nd time)

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller

Jan. 5, 2012 -

elected

Slovenia

Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek

Mar. 20, 2013 - Sep. 18, 2014

elected

Norway (3rd time)

Prime Minister Erna Solberg

Oct. 16, 2013 -

elected

Latvia

Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma

Jan. 22, 2014 -

elected

Less than a year in power (acting, interim leaders, etc)

Country

Leader

Term

Portugal

Prime Minister Maria de Lurdes Pintassilgo

Aug. 1, 1979 - Jan. 3, 1980

Lithuania (1st time)

Prime Minister Kazimiera Prunskien

Mar. 17, 1990 - Jan. 10, 1991

France

Prime Minister Edith Cresson

May 15, 1991 - Apr. 2, 1992

Burundi

Prime Minister Sylvie Kinigi

Jul. 10, 1993 - Feb. 7, 1994

Canada

Prime Minister Kim Campbell

Jun. 25, 1993 - Nov. 4, 1993

Rwanda

Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana

Jul. 18, 1993 - Apr. 7, 1994

Bulgaria

Prime Minister Reneta Indzhova

Oct. 17, 1994 - Jan. 25, 1995

Sri Lanka

Prime Minister Chandrika Kumaratunga

Aug. 19, 1994 - Nov. 12, 1994

Haiti

Prime Minister Claudette Werleigh

Nov. 7, 1995 - Mar. 6, 1996

Guyana

Prime Minister Janet Jagan

Mar. 17, 1997 - Dec. 22, 1997

Lithuania(2nd time)

Prime Minister Irena Degutiene

May 4, 1999 - May 18, 1999

Lithuania(3rd time)

Prime Minister Irena Degutiene

Oct. 27, 1999 - Nov. 3, 1999

Mongolia

Prime Minister Nyam-Osoryn Tuyaa

Jul. 22, 1999 - Jul. 30, 1999

South Korea

Prime Minister Chang Sang

Jul. 11, 2002 - Jul. 31, 2002

Finland

Prime Minister Anneli Jäätteenmäki

Apr. 17, 2003 - Jun. 24, 2003

Peru(1st time)

Prime Minister Beatriz Merino

June 28, 2003 - Dec. 15, 2003

Macedonia (1st time)

Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska

May 12, 2004 - Jun. 2, 2004

Macedonia(2nd time)

Prime Minister Radmila Sekerinska

Nov. 18, 2004 - Dec. 17, 2004

São Tomé and Príncipe

Prime Minister Maria do Carmo Silveira

Jun. 8, 2005 - Apr. 21, 2006

Moldova

Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanîi

Mar. 31, 2008 - Sep. 14, 2009

Madagascar

Prime Minister Cécile Manorohanta

Dec. 18, 2009 - Dec. 20, 2009

Peru(2nd time)

Prime Minister Rosario Fernández

Mar. 19, 2011 - Jul. 28, 2011

Mali

Prime Minister Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé

Apr. 3, 2011 - March 22, 2012

Cyprus (North)

Prime Minister Sibel Siber

Jun. 13, 2013 - Sep. 2, 2013

Senegal (2nd time)

Prime Minister Aminata Touré

Sep. 3, 2013 - Jul. 14, 2014

All countries with female governor-generals

In a Commonwealth country, a governor general is a politician
appointed by the prime minister to serve as "acting" head of state on
behalf of the British monarch, the legal chief of state.

Canada (1st time)

Governor-General Jeanne Sauvé

May 14, 1984 - Jan. 29, 1990

Barbados

Governor-General Dame Nita Barrow

Jun. 6, 1990 - Dec. 19, 1995

New Zealand (1st time)

Governor-General Dame Catherine Tizard

Nov. 20, 1990 - Mar. 21, 1996

Saint Lucia

Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy

Sep. 17, 1997 -

Canada (2nd time)

Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson

Oct. 7, 1999 - Sep. 27, 2005

New Zealand (2nd time)

Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright

Apr. 4, 2001 - Aug. 23, 2006

Bahamas

Governor-General Dame Ivy Dumont

Nov. 13, 2001 - Nov. 25, 2005

Canada (3rd time)

Governor-General Michaelle Jean

Sep. 27, 2005 - Oct. 1, 2010

Antigua and Barbuda

Governor-General Dame Louise Lake-Tack

Jul. 17, 2007 - Aug. 13, 2004

Australia

Governor-General Quentin Bryce

Sep. 5, 2008 - Mar. 28, 2014

Historic female monarchs

Historically speaking, the principle of heritary monarchism has
tended to supercede the principle of gender discrimantion, meaning even
very sexually regressive socieites have allowed female monarchs to rule
them from time to time, if that's how the monarchical birth lottery
goes. Here are all the historic female monarchs of countries that still
exist in some form today.

Denmark(1st time)

Lady Margrethe I

Aug. 10, 1387 - Jan. 23, 1396

Portugal(1st time)

Queen Beatrix

Oct. 22, 1383 - Apr. 6, 1385

Spain (1st time)

Queen Isabella I of Castile

Dec. 11, 1474 - Nov. 26, 1504

Spain(2nd time)

Queen Juana the Mad

Nov. 26, 1504 - Apr. 12, 1555

England (1st time)

Lady Jane Grey

Jul. 6, 1553 - Jul. 19, 1553

England (2nd time)

"Bloody" Mary

Jul. 19, 1553 - Nov. 17, 1558

England (3rd time)

Queen Elizabeth I

Nov. 17, 1558 - Mar. 24, 1603

Sweden (1st time)

Queen Christina

Nov. 16, 1632 - Jun. 16, 1654

England (4th time)

Queen Mary II

Feb. 23, 1689 - Jan. 7, 1695

England (4th time)

Queen Anne

Mar. 19, 1702 - Aug. 12, 1714

Sweden (2nd time)

Ulrica Eleonora

Feb. 2, 1719 - Apr. 4, 1720

Russia (2nd time)

Tsar Catherine I

Feb. 8 1725 - May 17, 1727

Russia (3rd time)

Tsar Anna Ivovna

Feb. 13, 1730 - Oct. 28, 1740

Russia (4th time)

Tsar ElizabethPetrovna

Dec. 6, 1741 - Jan. 5, 1762

Russia (5th time)

Tsar Catherine II the Great

Jul. 8, 1762 - Nov. 17, 1796

Portugal and Brazil(2nd time)

Queen Maria

Feb. 24, 1777 - Mar. 20, 1816

Portgual (3rd time)

Queen Maria II the Great

Mar. 3, 1828 - Nov. 15, 1853

England (5th time)

QueenEmpress Victoria the Good

Jun. 20, 1837 - Jan. 22, 1901

China

Empress Dowager Cixi

Feb. 25, 1875 - Mar. 4, 1889

Netherlands(1st time)

Queen Regent Emma

Dec. 8, 1890 - Aug. 31, 1898

Netherlands(2nd time)

Queen Wilhelmina

Aug. 31, 1898 - Sep. 4, 1948

Luxembourg (1st time)

Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde

Feb. 25, 1912 - Jan. 15, 1919

Luxembourg(2nd time)

Grand Duchess Charlotte

Jan. 15, 1919 - Nov. 12, 1964

Netherlands(3rd time)

Queen Juliana

Sep. 4, 1948 - Apr. 30, 1980

Netherlands(4th time)

Queen Beatrix

Apr. 30, 1980 - Apr. 30, 2013

Special cases

Switzerland has one of the
world's most unusual political systems, with the nation's highest
political authority vested in a "federal council" comprised of seven
members of parliament. The chair of the council serves as president of
Switzerland, but the position rotates every year. Since the federal
council always contains at least one women, Switzerland has a higher
than one-in-seven chance of having a female president in any given year,
which explains Switzerland's unusually high tally in this regard.

The tiny European nation of San Marino elects
two members of parliament to serve as "campaigns regent" for a
six-month term. San Marino law (the nation has no constitution)
declares that these captains serve "jointly" as head of state. Maria Lea Pedini Angelini served
as San Marino's first female captain regent in 1981; since then there
have been 15 others. I have elected not to include a full list of San
Marino's post-1981 female captains partially ensure this most unusual
of offices in this most minuscule of nations does not clutter the lists
above.

Countries that have had more than one female leader (includes acting, interim leaders etc)

Switzerland (6)

Six presidents*

Sri Lanka (3)

One president, two prime ministers

Haiti (3)

One president, two prime ministers

Finland (3)

One president, two prime ministers

South Korea (3)

Two prime ministers, one president

Lithuania(3)

One president, two prime ministers

Argentina(2)

Two presidents

Bangledesh(2)

Two prime ministers

Central African Republic (2)

One president, one prime minister

Guyana (2)

One president, one prime minister*

Iceland (2)

One president, one prime minister

India (2)

One president, one prime minister

Ireland (2)

Two presidents

Israel (2)

One president, one prime minister

Liberia (2)

Two presidents

Philippines (2)

Two presidents

New Zealand (2)

Two prime ministers

São Tomé and Príncipe (2)

Two prime ministers

Sengal (2)

Two prime ministers

*Switzerland has seen six female presidential terms, though two of
those were held by the same woman. Guyana's tally is also debatable,
since their female prime minister and female president were the same
person.

Historic firsts

Sükhbaataryn Yanjmaa of Mongolia (1953-1954)

World's first female (acting) president

Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka (1960-1965)

World's first female prime minister

Isabel Peron of Argentina (1974-1976)

World's first female (non-acting) president

Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom (1979-1990)

World's first female prime minister who was elected without being either an incumbent or a relative of a male leader.

Vigdís Finnbogadóttir of Iceland (1980-1996)

World's
first female elected president, and first female president who was
elected without being either an incumbent or a relative of a male
leader.

Mary McAleese of Ireland (1997- 2011)

First time that a female president directly succeed another female president.

Sri Lanka (1994-2000)

First
time that a nation possessed a female prime minister and a female
president simultaneously. Sri Lanka in 1994 also marked the first time
a female prime minister directly succeeded another female prime
minister.

Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir of Iceland (2009-2013)

World's first lesbian world leader, first female world leader to wed a same-sex partner while in office.

History's most important female world leaders

Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel (1969-1974)

b. 1898 - d. 1978

Born
in Russia but raised in the United States, Golda Meir was one of many
young Jews who emigrated to the British colony of Palestine in the
early 20th century. A leading Zionist and labor activist, she was one
of the signatories of Israel's 1948 declaration of independence. In
1949 she was elected as a Labor Party delegate to the first Israeli
parliament, and served in a number of cabinet positions under prime
ministers David Ben-Gurion and Levi Eshkol, before succeeding to the
office of prime minister herself, following Eshkol's 1969 death.

As
prime minister, Meir's term was dominated by the so-called "Yom Kippur
War" of 1973, in which Israel was unexpectedly invaded by Egypt and
Syria. Though the war severely tested Meir's leadership, Israel was
ultimately victorious, once again demonstrating the country's military
strength in the face of hostile neighbors.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India (1966-1977, 1980-1984)

b. 1917 - d. 1984

Though
not related to the famed Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi,
Indira was the daughter of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru
and was elected to lead his political party, the Indian National
Congress in 1960, following his death. After serving in the cabinet of
Prime Minister Bahadur Shastri, she in turn succeeded to the office of
prime minister following his death in 1966.

Gandhi's
two
terms were tumultuous and eventful, and saw episodes such as a 1971 war
with Pakistan over the disputed territory of Kashmir, the development
of an Indian nuclear weapons program, and a so-called "Green
Revolution" in farming that transformed the country's agriculture. Her
tenure was not a positive time for civil liberties, however, and for
much of her rule parliamentary democracy was all but suspended. She was
assassinated in
1984.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the United Kingdom (1979-1990)

b. 1925 - d. 2013

The daughter of a shopkeeper, Margaret Thatcher was elected to the British
Parliament in 1959, and served in the cabinet of Conservative Prime Minister Edward
Heath from 1970 to 1974. In 1975 she was elected leader of the Conservatives, and was elected Britain's first female prime
minister in 1979. Re-elected twice before resigning in 1990, she
remains one of the longest-serving female world leaders of all time.

Fiercely
ideological, Thatcher was best known for steering her political party
and country sharply to the right through an aggressive agenda of tax
cuts, privatizations, union-busting, and cuts to government spending.
In 1982 she led her country in a brief, successful war against
Argentina to liberate Britain's Falkland Islands from foreign invasion.

President Corazon Aquino of the Philippines (1986-1992)

b. 1933 - d. 2009

Corazon Aquino
rose to prominence as the wife of Benigno Aquino, a leading opposition
politician under the long dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Following
her husband's assassination in 1983, she assumed the leadership of the
anti-Marcos opposition, eventually emerging as the leading opposition
candidate in the 1986 presidential election, which she won, despite
massive fraud from the Marcos campaign. Her inspirational story earned
her the title of TIME magazine's 1986 "Person of the Year."

As
president, Aquino led a highly reformist government that introduced a
new, democratic constitution and removed the various political
restrictions that had contributed to the repression of the Marcos years.

Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan (1988-1990, 1993-1996)

b. 1953 - d. 2007

Educated
in England, Benazir Bhutto assumed the leadership of the Pakistan People's
Party in 1979, following the execution of her father, former prime
minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. A leading opposition figure under the
dictatorship of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, she was elected prime minister of a
coalition government in 1988 after his death.

Bhutto's two
terms in office helped democratize Pakistan after years of
dictatorship, but her government was also accused of widespread
corruption. After losing office a second time in 1996, she spent much
of her later life once again in opposition, this time to the new
dictatorship of Gen. Pervez Musharraf. After a period of exile, she was
assassinated in 2007, shortly after returning to the country. Her husband was then elected president in her place.

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany (2005- )

b. 1954

Merkel
grew up in East Germany where she worked as a chemist. She became active in politics
following the reunification of east and west Germany, and in 1991 she was elected
to the unified parliament under the conservative Christian Democratic
Party and served as a cabinet minister under the government of Helmut
Kohl. In 2000, she became head of the party and in 2005 was elected
chancellor (prime minister).

Following the crippling worldwide economic
recession of 2008, Merkel has emerged as one of the world's most
powerful leaders, due to her tight command of the Europe Union's
largest economy. Though her government has been financially generous
towards some of Europe's more troubled nations, she has also pressed
hard for austerity reforms to play a prominent role in any plan for
long-term economic recovery, both at home and abroad.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia (2006 - )

b. 1938

An
economist by profession, Sirleaf was educated in the United States
before returning to Liberia to serve in the government of President
William Tolbert, until his overthrow in 1980. Living mostly in exile,
for the next 25 years she would make numerous attempts at a political
comeback, but routinely faced jail terms and charges of treason for her
activities. In 2005 she assumed the leadership of the united opposition
to new dictator Charles Taylor and in 2006 was elected president
following his exile.

Sirleaf's presidency has focused
mostly on rebuilding Liberia's democratic institutions and fostering national
reconciliation after decades of civil war and oppression, as well as
helping modernize the country's economy. In 2011 she became the
first-ever female world leader to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

Has there ever been a female dictator?

Most observers would probably say no, though it does depend somewhat
on how you define "dictator." There has certainly never been a female
equivalent of someone like Saddam Hussein or Kim Jong Il, which is to
say, an all-powerful tyrant who led a totalitarian regime of extreme
murder and oppression. There have been, however, a few women who served
as prime ministers in undemocratic regimes, came to power through
undemocratic means, or ran governments that can be fairly described as
"authoritarian."

Élisabeth Domitién (1925-2005) served as prime
minister of the Central African Republic for little over a year under
the government of President Jean-Bédel Bokassa. Bokassa — who would
later declare himself emperor — was a mad and eccentric tyrant often
considered one of Africa's worst dictators, and is associated with many
horrific human rights abuses. Prime Minister Domitién was certainly
aware of these, but the prime minister's office was extraordinarily
weak under Bokassa, so it is probably unfair to consider her too
culpable in his crimes — particularly given her short tenure.

Milka Planinc (1924-2010) served as prime minister
of Yugoslavia from 1982 to 1986, at a time when it was still a
Communist republic. Following the death of longtime dictator Joseph
Broz Tito in 1980, the presidency of Yugoslavia reverted back to a
collective, with a chairmanship that rotated every year. This increased
the power of the prime ministership, and Planinc was unquestionably the
most powerful politician in the country during this time. Her regime
was moderate, but committed to the Communist system. It would be fair
to consider her a dictator, if perhaps not a particularly flashy one.

Biljana Plavsi (b. 1930) became president of the Serb Republic within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996. Bosnia and Herzegovina
had declared itself independent from Yugoslavia in 1992, and the Serb
Republic was declared around the same time. The Republic's first
president was the infamous Radovan Karadzic, who waged a vicious war of
"ethnic cleansing" against non-Serbs in the region. When he was forced
to resign amid western pressure in 1996, Vice President Plavsi took
over, and largely continued her predecessors' brutal policies. Both
were eventually charged with crimes against humanity. Though Plavsi is
perhaps the most infamous female politician of modern times, her regime
was at least nominally democratic. The Bosnian "Serb Republic" (not to
be confused with the Republic of Serbia) is also not a sovereign
country, though it considered itself independent during the Yugoslav
civil war.

Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (b.
1946) in her capacity as head of the East German parliament, served the
final, acting head of state of Communist East Germany for a few months
in 1990 at a time when the country was in the process of being
incorporated into West Germany. Though she was nominally in charge of a
Communist regime, her caretaker rule was too short and transient to be
seriously considered here.

Rosa Otunbayeva (b. 1950)
became president of Kyrgyzstan in the spring of 2010, following an
uprising against dictator Kurmanbek Bakiev. Though characterized as a
"revolution," like most revolutions it was in practice a coup, with
Bakiev being driven from the capital during a state of violent chaos.
Otunbayeva, the former foreign minister, declared herself head of a
transitory regime, and she made good on the promise, helping introduce
a more democratic constitution that lessened the power of the
presidency. She resigned in December of 2011.

Indira Gandhi (1917-1984)
served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister of India that
overlapped significant portions of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Though
India is a parliamentary democracy with constitutionally-protected
civil rights, in 1975 Gandhi took advantage of a worsening political
climate to declared a state of emergency that gave her office sweeping
powers to crackdown on dissent, including the censorship of media and
the arrest of political opponents. Many consider India's "emergency
rule" phase to be akin to a sort of dictatorship, though it is worth
noting that public backlash to the move resulted in it eventually being
lifted, and Gandhi was voted out of office and arrested shortly
thereafter.

MAP SUMMARY:

Light pink- acting heads of government
/ state, Dark pink- full-term heads of state /
government